


Everlasting

by BlackCats



Category: Kagerou Project, Mekakucity Actors
Genre: Canon Compliant, Developing Relationship, F/M, Pre-Canon, Relationship Study
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2015-05-18
Updated: 2015-05-18
Packaged: 2018-03-31 03:12:16
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,844
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/3962257
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/BlackCats/pseuds/BlackCats
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>He was worth humoring, because humans were so finite, and Azami's existence seemed infinite in comparison.<br/>(Azami, Tsukihiko, and once upon a time in a forest.)</p>
            </blockquote>





	Everlasting

It’d become something of a routine for them.

Azami peered around the tree and glowered down at the sight that greeted her, red eyes following the (now familiar) form and movements of that irksome human child who refused to grant her the solitude she desired.

He was so _very_ lucky that she possessed a soft spot for children, or she would have chased him off weeks ago. Possibly even killed him, though that was an option she was hoping to avoid.

But the fact still remained…that _he_ still remained.

And Azami was at a loss about what to do.

The rapscallion—Tsukihiko, he’d said his first day here—must have sensed the daggers she was shooting his way, because he turned around and waved over at her, from his spot at the base of the grassy slope.

“Ah, good morning, Miss! It’s looking to be a real beautiful day, isn’t it?”

She didn’t even have to _be_ here. That was the worst part. All Azami had to do was make use of one of her many snakes, and she could have perceived his location without having to leave her comfy little bed at all.

But…

“It’ll be a beautiful day when you _leave_.”

He wouldn’t actually _see_ her then, and they wouldn’t have their usual little banter before _he_ went hunting for food, and _she_ returned to her books.

It was routine.

Tsukihiko laughed. “And it’ll be a perfect day when you tell me your name!”

Habits were hard to break.

“As if _that_ will ever happen,” Azami huffed in reply, scrutinizing her pale pest like a hawk. She crossed her arms and drew herself up to her (admittedly unimpressive) full height, the scales along her neck bristling. “And _what_ , pray tell, part of the forest are you going to defile today?”

Standing there with his backpack and his white-and-red fox mask turned to the side, it was hard to believe that the youth was a soldier. He had to be barely out of his teenage years, or perhaps in the latest stages? Human life cycles gave her a revolting headache.

They were like mayflies. Populating all over, only to drop dead in three blinks of an eye. Disgusting.

_Wait a moment..._

Hah! Azami smirked to herself as she waited for a response—Tsukihiko was fiddling with the straps of his leather satchel, digging something out. That was it then. She'd figured out the obvious.

She’d outlive him. She’d still be here even when he was old and gray and food for the birds; wasn’t _that_ reassuring.

“I don't know about 'defiling',but...I’m going down to the river!” Triumphant, Tsukihiko hefted up a long stretch of line, eager to show off his stupid little hook and colored catchers…for _some_ reason. “I think I’ll be able to fish up something really good this way, h-hehe…”

He rubbed the back of his neck, suddenly shy and modest, and Azami arched a dark eyebrow.

“Hmph. Good _luck_ ,” she scoffed in a way that made it clear she meant the exact opposite. She turned to go in a flurry of black cloth and red-eyed snakes, but Tsukihiko called out to her again before she could go far.

“O-Oh, but Miss! Miss, hold on!”

Azami exhaled in frustration, but—

She stopped.

One hand braced against a tree, she stopped, and heard him out. “ _Focusing Eyes_ ,” she murmured to herself, too quiet for the human to hear. The snake in question responded immediately to the queen, granting her access to its abilities.

She kept a firm eye on Tsukihiko, though he couldn’t see her from the bottom of the hill at all.

“…What?” she replied loudly, irate.

Tsukihiko put a hand on his chest, clearly trying to summon up some courage. By the gods, it was pitiful. “W-Would you care to join me for dinner tonight?”

Azami made a choked sound, immensely grateful that he wouldn’t be able to make it out from there. Still the words that were coughed out might as well have been caught in a furball or something. “Wh-What?! Why would I do something like that?”

He laughed. “Maybe you’re just hungry! It doesn’t have to be for me or anything, Miss, but…Would you consider it?”

Azami didn’t respond. She clenched her jaw, wanting to shout out all sorts of excus— _reasons_ as to why she would never eat anything made by his stupid human hands. For the most part, she didn’t eat meat at all, relying on plants and fruits and roots, but she’d trap and hunt the odd rabbit or two…

Tsukihiko must have decided that daylight was burning, or, alternatively, decided that it’d be wiser to give her some space. She hoped it wasn’t the latter. The idea that he was starting to become familiar with her demeanor made her scales itch.

“I’ll come back once the sun sets!” he informed her, offering a wave as if he knew she could see it before collecting his things and making his way toward the river, northward.

Azami dismissed Focusing Eyes and rubbed an irritated hand against her cheek, mortified to find the typically clammy skin was a little… _warmer_ than usual.

“Nuisance!” she hissed at last, stomping off toward her current home in high bad temper. He was nothing but a strange-eyed, pale-haired, scrawny-formed, lame-brained _imbecile_ who never knew when to take a hint. As if she hadn't suffered enough already!

Shoving aside her curtain, she lit a series of candles in the space with only a glance; Azami then snatched up one of her many collected books and rifled through the pages.

The first image she was presented with was that of a human and a goddess, hands intertwined, the picture of harmony.

She slammed the book closed and reached for a collection of folklore about ghosts instead.

~***~

The light sneaking in through gaps in her curtain and the tangle of tree roots that formed her roof? It was deep, bleeding red.

The sun was setting.

Azami ruffled her snakes, ignoring their sounds of complaint, trying her hardest to continue writing down the meager events of today. Something occurred to her, and she flipped back through several dozen days’ worth of activities, brows furrowing in thought.

Tsukihiko’s name was cropping up with more and more frequency lately. Though her memory was perfect, it was still nice to have things on paper, readily accessible to her immediate thoughts without Retaining Eyes’ gift.

And there it was. One of the first things Tsukihko had ever said to her.

_“You say you’re a monster, and the village? They call me one too. It’s no good being alone…so why don’t we live together?”_

She had laughed in harsh scorn and rebuffed him at the time, but the little simpleton had yet to actually _leave_.

She heaved a sigh, closing the book and tucking it into its proper niche beneath her pillow.

What would she do if he never left?

_There’s nothing to worry about. I’ll just outlast him._

She was incredibly patient.

Azami rolled her shoulders, fingers tapping against the earth.

_For hundreds of years more, I’ll outlast him. When there's no one left to carry his memory, I'll_ still  _outlast him._

The thought put a strange feeling in her bones that hadn’t been there before. Made it feel like all her serpents were trying to pull themselves off of her head, too.

An eye twitched, and then:

“Ahh…! Stupid Tsukihiko!”

Rising to her feet, she knocked the dust off of her dress and went off toward that same hillside that’d become their meeting place—the bridging point between _her_ stretch of the upper forest, and _his_ neck of the woods. She hadn’t even bothered to check ahead of time if he had made it back from his fishing trip yet. Instead, once she reached her destination, Azami just sat herself there halfway up(down) the slope, and waited.

Her fingers drummed along her folded arms as she scowled.

She was patient.

Some time passed.

…She _wasn’t_ patient.

Poor Tsukihiko. He’d barely come into sight and she was _already_ yelling at him, startling him so badly that he nearly dropped his basket of fish.

“And _where_ have you been?! You rotten human…!”

“E-Eh? Miss?”

She charged up to him and tilted her head back so she could fix his moronic blank face with a series of glares, not just from _her_ , but from at least six or seven snakes as well. “You said you’d be back at _sunset_ , Tsukihiko! What time is it now?”

Clearly bewildered, he glanced up at the darkening sky. The forest was settling down into a deep twilight purple, and Azami’s eyes flared scarlet in the summertime evening. “O-Oh…well, just _after_ sundown, I guess—“

Tsukihiko cut himself off, a smile slowly dawning upon him.

“That’s right! Don’t you know how to tell ti—“ Azami noticed his pause and curled her lips. “…What? What’s that look about?”

“Miss,” he said with a warm chuckle. “Were you really waiting for me after all?”

“G-Gah…!” Hell and fire, there was _no way_ he hadn’t heard her _this_ time. Azami turned on her heel, rubbing her hands against her scaly cheeks again as she grumbled out a chain of curses and objections and protests. “Don’t get the wrong idea! It’s not _you_.” She lifted her chin proudly. “It’s just the food that you brought.”

He only chuckled once more, and Azami wanted to bury herself alive. Or better yet, bury _him_.

“ _Watch it_ , human.”

Tsukihiko merely grinned impishly. “I’m _absolutely sorry_ , Miss. Will you come with me, then? While I cook dinner for us?”

“Hmph. No. _You’re_ going to bring it to _me_.” Azami was already climbing up the hill by the time Tsukihiko realized she’d just essentially invited him to her abode for the first time; a cavern formed from the roots of the tallest, oldest tree in the forest.

He’d seen it only once before, on accident. After that she Deceived him and shrouded it from view.

“M-Miss?! You’re really okay with me—“

“Will you _stop_ calling me ‘Miss’? I have a name, you know.” He didn’t know, of course, since she’d never told him before. She paused at the slope’s crest with her arms folded once more, back to him. “It’s Azami.”

“Azami,” he repeated in an awed whisper. “So…So you really _are_ the monster from the legends.”

She smirked but continued her march, a regal air about her as she vanished into the depths of the woods.

Giving her name to him? It didn’t mean anything. Pointless.

It was just to stop him from using such a _ridiculous_ prefix when he addressed her. That was all.

Just like how she allowed him to bring her a meal and sit in the doorway of her home, framed by moonlight as pale as he was, snickering away at her words and actions in a fashion that was swiftly becoming dear to her.

It meant nothing at all.

She’d outlive him, and his presence would only be a memory.

**Author's Note:**

> A somewhat rarely written character; I really love Azami so hopefully I did our original-flavor snake queen justice.


End file.
